Authentec Launching Biometric Suite for Netbooks

Authentec, like competitor Upek, is thinking of new ways to revive the authentication market. Its newest offering combines a tiny fingerprint sensor, software optimized for Windows 7 and lots of options for personalizing one's netbook.

Authentec, a popular provider of smart fingerprint solutions, will
be introducing a family of hardware and software solutions on Aug. 17.
While biometric solutions
have primarily focused on the enterprise, this new solution, which
Authentec is currently shopping around to manufacturers, is intended
for consumers and netbooks.

"This significant portfolio expansion gives us a complete offering for
our customers - whether they're designing new 6-inch netbooks all the
way up to 18-inch multimedia notebooks..." said Authentec CEO Scott Moody
in a statement.

The solution combines Authentec's tiny new sensor, called Marcy, with
its TrueSuite software, which the company says has been optimized for
use with Microsoft Windows 7 and the new operating system's Windows
Biometric Framework (WBF).

While fingerprint sensors are normally associated with signing into
corporate VPNs, when paired with netbooks, Authentec has imagined more
personalized uses and time-savers. For example, each finger can be
assigned a different application or two - simply swipe your right index
finger and have Facebook and MySpace launch and sign you in
automatically.

Or, for even greater personalization, an LED light on the sensor could
flash a certain color when you have a new email from a particular
friend. A swipe of the right ring finger, for instance, could then pull
up Gmail, sign you in and launch that particular new email.

"Personalization [is] a more important attribute in the consumer space
than it is in the enterprise space," Brent Dietz, Authentec's
communications director, told eWEEK.

"People treat a netbook like they would a cell phone or other personal
item. They want to be able to quickly sort and separate their favorites
from the rest of the information that's out there. We can reduce the
number of keystrokes and clicks to their favorites, while at the same
time ensuring that only they have access to their personal information."

Roger Kay, president of Endpoint Technologies, said the authentication
market has slowed to nearly a halt. "Consumers don't get it, they don't
care that much," Kay told eWEEK.

"They think putting in a password is enough. And OEMS are finding they
can't charge customers for this stuff. ... It's a little like backup -
everyone thinks it makes sense, but then it turns out that the actual
number of people doing backup is tiny."

Authentec, and competitor Upek, which together control most of the
market, are trying to think of new ways to stimulate demand, and so
it's natural to focus on netbooks. However, netbooks traditionally have
a low bill of materials.

"It makes it that much more problematic for Authentec, then, because
the authenticator's proportion of the bill of materials is higher in
netbooks than in notebooks," said Kay. "So in some sense, it's the
opposite of the way to go."

However, while describing the personalization features as "fairly
gimmicky," Kay added, "But if I were in Authentec's marketing
department, I'd also want to get where the buzz is, and that's with
netbooks. They have to be doing something, and this is probably as good as it gets."

Michelle Maisto has been covering the enterprise mobility space for a decade, beginning with Knowledge Management, Field Force Automation and eCRM, and most recently as the editor-in-chief of Mobile Enterprise magazine. She earned an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University, and in her spare time obsesses about food. Her first book, The Gastronomy of Marriage, if forthcoming from Random House in September 2009.